Trading is usually the way to go.
Yes, you can buy off others, but make sure that the store doesn't have any problems with others selling items inside their store. Some stores will have "no selling" policy.
What defines a "playable" card?
- Thread starter ShiningHoOh12
- Start date
Trading is usually the way to go.
Yes, you can buy off others, but make sure that the store doesn't have any problems with others selling items inside their store. Some stores will have "no selling" policy.
waynegg
CotD Editor<br>Forum Moderator
You can also create a trade thread and trade with others through this website. Just make sure you read the rules of the forum first to stay out of trouble. People here are generally easy enough to trade with and are trustworthy. There are always bad apples anywhere though, so if in doubt- ask.
ShiningHoOh12
New Member
That's quite true. I forgot about that.
All my stuff for trade is old cards aside from Crobat Prime and the bottom half of Suicune & Entei LEGEND. Should I buy packs to try and get trade cards?
All my stuff for trade is old cards aside from Crobat Prime and the bottom half of Suicune & Entei LEGEND. Should I buy packs to try and get trade cards?
That would be a good idea. Like waynegg said, Platinum is great for getting things to trade with. You can try buying a few of those.
Also, HGSS isn't that bad either.
ShiningHoOh12
New Member
What about HS-Unleashed? Nobody's mentioned that, so I assume it doesn't have much, but I still wanna check.
waynegg
CotD Editor<br>Forum Moderator
Depending on the old cards, you may have everything you need to get started. Just try and find collectors to trade with. Their trade lists have, as a rule of thumb, a much longer 1st post. They will also have the older cards they are looking for listed in their wants.
Unleashed is kind of meh right now. It has some cards with potential but they are missing that little something that will hopefully come in later sets to combo them up. There are a handful of good right now cards, but only a handful.
Unleashed is kind of meh right now. It has some cards with potential but they are missing that little something that will hopefully come in later sets to combo them up. There are a handful of good right now cards, but only a handful.
From actually being in a situation like this when Diamond and Pearl can out, I can say that it's not necessarily a very good idea to buy packs. I bought tons of packs and ended up with all junk that nobody wanted.
Do that if you want, but don't go overboard, plus only buy from sets that are fairly new and stuffed with good cards - and I suggest you stop packs altogether at a certain point and just go full-out singles. Building a collection of cards to trade is good - having four thick binders of cards nobody wants is not (unless, of course, you're like me and my brothers - we use "Rogue Decks" with high-rarity cards that cost $0.25 because nobody wants them.
Anyways, you may or may not have some old and commonly reprinted staples. Switch, Warp Point and Double Colorless Energy come to mind. Regardless, you should probably refer to the list on Pokemon.com that shows all reprinted cards - that way, you will know what you have that can be helpful to your deck-building endeavors.
Do that if you want, but don't go overboard, plus only buy from sets that are fairly new and stuffed with good cards - and I suggest you stop packs altogether at a certain point and just go full-out singles. Building a collection of cards to trade is good - having four thick binders of cards nobody wants is not (unless, of course, you're like me and my brothers - we use "Rogue Decks" with high-rarity cards that cost $0.25 because nobody wants them.
Anyways, you may or may not have some old and commonly reprinted staples. Switch, Warp Point and Double Colorless Energy come to mind. Regardless, you should probably refer to the list on Pokemon.com that shows all reprinted cards - that way, you will know what you have that can be helpful to your deck-building endeavors.
Unleashed does have a few nice cards.
Here are some of them:
Engineer's Adjustments
Energy Returner
Interviewer's Questions
Judge
PlusPower
Rare Candy
Super Scoop Up
Kingdra Prime
Tyranitar Prime
Steelix Prime
Entei & Raikou Legend
ALPH Lithograph (only because it is a secret rare)
However, most of these cards can easily be traded for, which is why most people will reccommend that you do not buy the packs.
If you want, here is a list of the legal sets after September, so you can buy cards from those sets:
* Majestic Dawn
* Legends Awakened
* Stormfront
* Platinum
* Rising Rivals
* Supreme Victors
* Arceus
* HeartGold & SoulSilver
* Unleashed
* Pokémon Rumble
* Black Star Promos DP22 and up
Along with any other new sets that come out.
This is best done after your first League session so that you can sign up using your POP ID, but I'll go ahead and explain it.
The first time you go to a League, the League Leader should sign you up and give you a POP(Pokemon Organized Play) ID card. This identifies you as an official player. Once you receive it, it will include instructions on how to setup a My Pokemon account on pokemon.com. With an account, you can track your current player rating, the tournament matches you've played, and your reward points you have earned.
Speaking of reward points, be sure to sign up for player rewards once you've made your My Pokemon account. Every tournament you attend and each League season you complete will award you with points. Eventually, these points are tallied up, and player rewards are sent to you if you've earned enough points. Currently, they have been giving out some very nice looking holographic energy cards as rewards. These rewards are another reason you should go to Leagues and Tournaments.
Hope that helps. :thumb:
vegitalian
New Member
I'm not saying that you were hyping it to be the best. What I'm saying is that it's not competitive, and doesn't have anything redeeming enough in the current format to make it competitive. Uxie and Azelf weren't must plays, but when your only draw power was 1-1 Claydol, and you ran 1-0-1 lines, they definitely were. The chances of having one of the Claydol halves prized are actually 1 in 5, since there are 6 prizes. Anyways, moving away from the list, I am going to say (on record) that Crobat Prime has zero chance (from the cards that we've seen so far in scans, etc.) to top cut Prov's, Reg's, Nat's, or Worlds, place 1st in Masters in City's or BRs, regardless of how good the list is. Quote me on that, and if I'm wrong (which I'm confident that I won't be) feel free to bring it up at some point.
V1c10u5
New Member
I would like to add that while the gym is a great resource as a beginner, as you grow as a player into a competitive powerhouse you will find that a select few of the elite players in pokemon actually post on here.
also, the cards listed to be the best are, mostly, opinion.
some are undeniably good.
pokemon collector
pokemon communication
bebes search
luxury ball
uxie
azelf
most of the SP trainers. etc.
I used to play magic when i was younger, and im still pretty young now, but decks such as the old "Zoo" are highly popular and easy to play. while more strategic decks tend to have better showing at tournaments.
hand control and disruption can be improtant and a good part of strategy (ex: sablelock)
but high power/speed can be seen as solid (ex: kingdra)
while technical and tricky decks are also good (ex: luxchomp)
and field control is much more important than card advantage in pokemon, with cards that can draw ridiculous amounts being commonplace, card advantage is almost null at points.
there was a deck, and while it may still exist it lost some vital cards, based around Gyarados SF, which, with some setup, could do 90-110 damage for no energy. it was good because while you KO'ed your opponent, they lost energy attachments, yet when they KO'ed you, you lost just the gyarados, which could be easily brought bac with trainers.
If you want to PM me with questions I'd be cool with that, since I love helping new players and you seem cool, and maybe Pokegm as a community can help build you up to be a high caliber player.
best of luck
also, the cards listed to be the best are, mostly, opinion.
some are undeniably good.
pokemon collector
pokemon communication
bebes search
luxury ball
uxie
azelf
most of the SP trainers. etc.
I used to play magic when i was younger, and im still pretty young now, but decks such as the old "Zoo" are highly popular and easy to play. while more strategic decks tend to have better showing at tournaments.
hand control and disruption can be improtant and a good part of strategy (ex: sablelock)
but high power/speed can be seen as solid (ex: kingdra)
while technical and tricky decks are also good (ex: luxchomp)
and field control is much more important than card advantage in pokemon, with cards that can draw ridiculous amounts being commonplace, card advantage is almost null at points.
there was a deck, and while it may still exist it lost some vital cards, based around Gyarados SF, which, with some setup, could do 90-110 damage for no energy. it was good because while you KO'ed your opponent, they lost energy attachments, yet when they KO'ed you, you lost just the gyarados, which could be easily brought bac with trainers.
If you want to PM me with questions I'd be cool with that, since I love helping new players and you seem cool, and maybe Pokegm as a community can help build you up to be a high caliber player.
best of luck
waynegg
CotD Editor<br>Forum Moderator
And I would have to agree with you on that, 100%. However, that doesn't stop it from being competitive. You don't have to win a tournament for it to be so. Just being able to 50% or better and give the decks you lose to a hard time is competitive. There's a big difference in what your thoughts are on being competitive and what mine are. What you are describing is a top tier deck which I clearly stated this wasn't. I just said it was competitive. I do know the difference.
Can it beat Luxchomp (or any other top tier deck)? Sure it can. Would it do it consistently? No way, not even close!
Also, that isn't the way you calculate probability for a prize of a singular action occuring with 60 variables. I would explain how that works, but this site doesn't support the calculus function symbol or any of the other symbols needed. The lowest probability of the occurrence is 1/30 with a range to a high of 2/55 (6 random prizes out of a 60 card deck to be one of 2 cards you need). The simplified short answer rounded off is 1/30.
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ShiningHoOh12
New Member
Thanks for all the help, guys. I really appreciate it. I have another question: are there cards like Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal from the Base Set? If so, should I play them if they're Trainers (and not Supporters, because that seems like a waste) in order to hinder my opponent's field advantage?
waynegg
CotD Editor<br>Forum Moderator
I don't recall which card right off the top of my head, but there is a Pokemon which seams to have a little potential in this aspect with its attack. It removes a Special Energy from each of your opponents Pokemon if I remember right. There aren't any Trainers like this right now though. I'll search for which Pokemon it is and let you know. If someone can beat me to the punch though, go for it.
On top of the Pokemon waynegg mentioned (it's bugging me - I vaguely recall something like that as well), there's also the Garchomp from Supreme Victors. It has a PokeBody that forces any Pokemon that attacks it to return an energy to their hand. This helps it with one of its attacks, which is stronger if your opponent has less energy in hand. It's not the best, but it has the sort of effect you were asking about.
Also, I believe the upcoming Undaunted set has a Scizor that messed around with anyone using non-Basic Energy?
Also, I believe the upcoming Undaunted set has a Scizor that messed around with anyone using non-Basic Energy?
vegitalian
New Member
The odds of one of them being prized is 1/10, so how on earth could the odds of either of them being prized be 1/30?
waynegg said:
This question, like nearly every TCG "what are the odds..." question, is a Hypergeometric Distribution. There is no range associated with the results of this function.
The probability of exactly 1 of 2 possible cards from a 60 card population (a deck) being in a 6 card sample (Prizes) is ~18.3%. The probability of exactly both being there is ~.8%. The probability of at least one being there is ~19.1%.
You can run your own distributions easily in Excel or a Google Doc spreadsheet using the HYPGEOMDIST function. Keep in mind that this function is non cumulative. If, for example, you want to find the result of getting "at least 4 Energy cards in my starting hand" you would need to sum the results of 4, 5, 6, and 7, as HYPGEOMDIST(4,7,12,60) will only tell you the result for exactly 4.
